A white Bermudian man attacked by a group of youths claims he is the target of reverse racism -- and said he is sick of the abuse.

Benjamin Beasley, a 12-year resident of Ord Road in Warwick, wrote a letter to The Royal Gazette recently expressing his frustrations over the "racial harassment toward white people'' he has seen in Bermuda.

Mr. Beasley, 18, said he was the target of racial slurs which were "bearable'' since he was never physically injured.

But all this changed, said Mr. Beasley, when a group of young men stepped out into the street when he was riding home last week and one man struck him in the chest.

When Mr. Beasley got off his bike to confront the man, he said the young man and a group of others began threatening him and shouting racial slurs.

And Mr. Beasley said the abuse became worse when one man punched him in the mouth and another threw a rock at him.

It resulted in a trip to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for bruises sustained in the attack.

In his letter Mr. Beasley states: "I am by no stretch of the imagination making an attack at black people, because I don't generalise people...no one race of people can be judged by the actions of one person or group of people.'' But he urged Bermudians of all races to concentrate on our similarities rather than our differences.

In addition to the harassment Mr. Beasley suffered, he now fears that the culprits will not be brought to justice.

Despite giving statements to the Police and asking for charges to be brought, Mr. Beasley believes no further action will be taken.

His mother, Lorraine Beasley, said she was extremely disappointed in the Police response to the incident and also feared that would be the last they heard of it as Ben leaves for university in Canada today.

She said the incident was especially upsetting since Ben had just gotten over the death of his best friend, Ewan Sampson, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in April.

Development and Opportunities Minister Jerome Dill said the incident was "most unfortunate'' and condemned the behaviour of those involved.

"It's this sort of behaviour in Bermuda that we must stamp out -- and I regret what it says about some people and their race relations in Bermuda.

"I'd like to think we are making progress -- CURE and the Human Rights Commission have done very well.

"But good race relations is like a good marriage...you must be constantly vigilant,'' he added.

Both Jerome Dill and Human Rights Commission (HRC) executive director Kenneth Dill said the incident should be reported to Police and HRC.

"The criminal code has been amended and provides for prosecution for racial harassment,'' said Kenneth Dill.

He noted that HRC's recent forum on race relations spawned seven implementation sub-committees -- two of which address issues arising from reverse discrimination and prejudice.